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Close the door to the habits that have been holding you back, change the record, clean the house, and get rid of the dust and dirt. Stop denying yourself a fair chance. Stop being who you were, and become who you really are.Starting today, stop…

Playing it safe. – Have you ever tucked something of value “in a safe place” out of fear that someone might ruin it or steal it from you? And then one day woke to the realization that you had hid it so well that even YOU couldn’t find it? If so, then you understand the wisdom of leaving your heart and your dreams in the wide open. To reach for what can be, even when we’re doubtful. To let go of what is lost, even when it’s painful. To live as though we’re brave, even when we’re fearful. These are the trials we face and the choices we make along the path to happiness and success. Read A New Earth.

Letting everyone else decide for you. – When you feel out of control, it can be tempting to look for someone willing to take charge of your life for you. But before you do, consider this: If you put a collar around your own neck and hand the leash to someone else, you’ll have little or no say about where they lead you. Set your own boundaries and run freely within them.

Doubting your own dreams. – It doesn’t matter if your hope is to write a book, find lasting love, start a business, achieve forgiveness, heal your body, learn to play a musical instrument, find inner peace, or something else. The first step – and often the longest, most arduous one – is to believe that your dream in possible.

Tolerating the influence of negative people. – Sometimes we forgive people simply because we want them in our life, and sometimes we let go of them simply because we have had enough. Saying goodbye is one of the most painful ways to solve a problem, but from time to time it’s necessary.

Letting failed relationships haunt new relationships. – There’s a purpose to every failed relationship. The purpose is not to lower your expectations, but to raise your standards. Remember, you don’t want someone who chooses you solely for what’s good about you. You need someone who sees the bad too, and still appreciates you just the way you are.

Expecting constant bliss. – True happiness is not found just within positivity, it is found within reality, which means accepting the fact that both positivity and negativity coexist. Trying to be 100% positive all the time is wanting to be an ocean in which waves only rise up and never come crashing down. However, when we recognize that the rising and crashing waves are part of the same one ocean, we are able to let go and be at peace with the way things are, which leads us to happier, more productive places in the long-term. Read Stumbling on Happiness.

Dwelling on the things you’ve lost. – In life, there are some people and things you’re going to have to lose in order to find your best self. So be grateful for what you have right now, try not to dwell on the things you’ve lost, strive for what you want most, and keep marching forward.

Overlooking the lesson. – Everything happens for a reason – a reason you can learn and grow from. People change so you can learn how to let go. Things go wrong so you learn to appreciate things when they go right. You believe lies at first so you eventually learn who you can truly trust. And sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.

Holding on to resentment. – No matter what resentment tells you, to forgive is always in your favor. Leave no residue of hostility in your heart. Release the bitter thoughts you have towards yourself and others. Only then can you satisfy your craving for happiness.

Being overly critical of yourself. – If you feel like everyone is judging you all the time, realize that we often feel this way when we are too busy judging ourselves.

Letting pessimism feed your procrastination. – We have two choices when we wake up in the morning: either we go back to sleep and dream, or we wake up and chase that dream. We often spend way too much time wondering why we’re not good enough, and discrediting ourselves, instead of giving ourselves credit. We waste too much time with our heads down and hearts closed, never giving ourselves a chance to look up from the ground to see that the sun is shining bright, and that today is another perfect opportunity to take action and pursue our dreams. Read How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.

Giving up too soon. – From time to time people ask me how I hold my head up so high after all I’ve been through, and I always tell them the same thing: “It’s because no matter what, I am a survivor, not a victim.” Never let go of hope. Remember what you deserve and keep pushing forward. Someday all the pieces will come together. Unimaginably good things will transpire in your life, even if everything doesn’t turn out exactly the way you had anticipated. And you will look back at the times that have passed, smile, and ask yourself, “How did I get through all of that?”

I just went through this process and the clarity it delivers is well worth the effort. The questions can also apply equally well to a potential buyer of or investor in your business. A2EFrom Seth GodinFour questions worth answering.

Who is your next customer? (Conceptually, not specifically. Describe his outlook, his tribe, his hopes and dreams and needs and wants...)

What is the story he told himself (about the world, about his situation, about his perceptions) before he met you?

How do you encounter him in a way that he trusts the story you tell him about what you have to offer?

What change are you trying to make in him, his life, or his story?

Start with this before you spend time on tactics, technology or scalability.

If you would like some assistance in answering these questions click here.

In the decade since Steve Jobs and former head of retail, Ron Johnson, decided to reimagine the retail experience, the Apple Store not only reimagined and reinvented retail, it blew up the model entirely and started from scratch. In his research for The Apple Experience, Carmine discovered ten things that the Apple Store can teach any business in any industry to be more successful:

1. Stop selling stuff. When Steve Jobs first started the Apple Store he did not ask the question, “How will we grow our market share from 5 to 10 percent?” Instead he asked, “How do we enrich people’s lives?” Think about your vision. If you were to examine the business model for most brands and retailers and develop a vision around it, the vision would be to “sell more stuff.” A vision based on selling stuff isn’t very inspiring and leads to a very different experience than the Apple Retail Store created.

2. Enrich lives. The vision behind the Apple Store is “enrich lives,” the first two words on a wallet-sized credo card employees are encouraged to carry. When you enrich lives magical things start to happen. For example, enriching lives convinced Apple to have a non-commissioned sales floor where employees feel comfortable spending as much time with a customer as the customer desires. Enriching lives led Apple to build play areas (the “family room”) where kids could see, touch and play on computers. Enriching lives led to the creation of a “Genius Bar” where trained experts are focused on “rebuilding relationships” as much as fixing problems.

3. Hire for smiles. The soul of the Apple Store is in its people. They are hired, trained, motivated and taught to create magical and memorable moments for their customers. The Apple Store values a magnetic personality as much, if not more so, than technical proficiency. The Apple Store cares less about what you know than it cares about how much you love people.

4. Celebrate diversity. Mohawks, tattoos, piercings are all acceptable among Apple Store employees. Apple hires people who reflect the diversity of their customers. Since they are more interested in how passionate you are, your hairstyle doesn’t matter. Early in the Apple Store history, they also learned that former teachers make the best salespeople because they ask a lot of questions. It’s not uncommon to find former teachers, engineers, and artists at an Apple Store. Apple doesn’t look for someone who fits a mold.

5. Unleash inner genius. Teach your customers something they never knew they could do before, and they’ll reward you with their loyalty. For example, the Apple Store offers a unique program to help people understand and enjoy their computers: One to One. The $99 one-year membership program is available with the purchase of a Mac. Apple Store instructors called “creatives” offer personalized instruction inside the Apple Store. Customers can learn just about anything: basics about the Mac operating system; how to design a website; enjoying, sharing, and editing photos or movies; creating a presentation; and much more. The One to One program was created to help build customers for life. It was designed on the premise that the more you understand a product, the more you enjoy it, and the more likely you are to build a long-term relationship with the company. Instructors are trained to provide guidance and instruction, but also to inspire customers, giving them the tools to make them more creative than they ever imagined.

6. Empower employees. I spent one hour talking to an Apple Store specialist about kids, golf, and my business. We spent about ten minutes talking about the product (a MacBook Air). I asked the employee whether he would be reprimanded for spending so much time with one customer. “Not at all,” he replied. “If you have a great experience, that’s all that matters.” Apple has a non-commissioned sales floor for a reason—employees are not pressured to “make a sale.” Instead they are empowered to do what they believe is the right thing to do.

7. Sell the benefit. Apple Store specialists are taught to sell the benefit behind products and to customize those benefits for the customer. For example, I walked to the iPad table with my two young daughters and told the specialist I was considering my first iPad. In a brilliant move, the specialist focused on my two daughters, the ‘secondary’ customer who can influence a purchase. He let the girls play on separate devices. On one device he played the movie, Tangled, and on the other device he brought up a Disney Princess coloring app. My girls were thrilled and, in one memorable moment, my 6-year-old turned me to and said, “I love this store!” It’s easy to see why. Instead of touting “speeds and feeds,” the specialist taught us how the device could improve our lives.

8. Follow the steps of service. The Apple Store teaches its employees to follow five steps in each and every interaction. These are called the Apple five steps of service. They are outlined by the acronym A-P-P-L-E. They are: Approach with a customized, warm greeting. Probe politely to understand the customer’s needs. Present a solution the customer can take home today. Listen for and address unresolved questions. End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return.

9. Create multisensory experiences. The brain loves multi-sensory experiences. In other words, people enjoy being able to see, touch, and play with products. Walk into an Apple Store upon opening and you’ll see all the notebook computer screens perfectly positioned slightly beyond 90-degree angles. The position of the computer lets you see the screen (which is on and loaded with content) but forces you to touch the computer in order to adjust it. Every device in the store is working and connected to the Internet. Spend as much time as you’d like playing with the products—nobody will kick you out. Creatives who give One-to-One workshops do not touch the computer without asking for permission. They want you to do it. The sense of touch helps create an emotional connection with a product.

10. Appeal to the buying brain. Clutter forces the brain to consume energy. Create uncluttered environments instead. The Apple Store is spacious, clean, well-lit, and uncluttered. Cables are hidden from view and no posters on placed on the iconic glass entrances. Computer screens are cleaned constantly. Keep the environment clean, open, and uncluttered.

The three pillars of enchantment are likability, trustworthiness, and quality. Apple’s engineers take care of quality, and the Apple Store experience personifies likability and trustworthiness. I’ve never left an Apple store without being enchanted—in fact, I seldom leave the Apple Store on University Avenue in Palo Alto without being enchanted and buying something too! Resisting Carmine’s book, like resisting an Apple Store, is futile, so just get it here: The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty

Success Through Preparation And Shared Expensesby Eric Gilboord from his new book 'Just Tell Me More'.

A company specialized in renting and selling large screen TVs. A pioneer eight years ago, it now faced growing competition. Large flat screen TVs were readily available from many retailers including television specialty retailers and warehouse stores. The real opportunity was in home theatres and office presentation rooms. To build these types of facilities required experience and expertise. The company had to act quickly to establish its name firmly in consumers’ minds before it lost the advantage of being first. It began to prepare a marketing plan by researching its target markets.

Market research showed that the best prospects were men and women who owned their own businesses. They were candidates for purchasing multiple units at one time. A large screen TV enriched their leisure time at home and could be used for presentations and to show instructional videos to employees at the office.

The marketing plan identified a distinct difference between them and their competitors. The companies’ purpose built showroom was a much better environment to demonstrate the range of products it carried, from home units to boardroom calibre large format TVs. The opportunity was in reinforcing its position as an expert in this field; major competitors, such as department and appliance stores, were now carrying the smaller versions of large flat screens but did not possess the same level of experience and expertise they did.

The marketing plan outlined a clear objective: to get as many prospects to their showroom as possible. The strategy was to invite prospects working within three miles of its showroom to join the staff for cocktails and to view a special event on a very large screen TV in one of their purpose built theatre/presentation rooms.

Many different events were offered from live sports to movies, special television series events and award shows. They were combining a leisure activity with a business function.

During the planning process, the owner realized that funding for this type of promotion would be more costly than he had budgeted for. He decided to enter into promotions only if he had a partner, preferably a supplier, to help defray some of the costs. A supplier made the best partner as it would have only the retailer’s interests in mind: the more successful the retailer was, the more units the supplier could sell. If another retailer had been a partner, they would have probably focused on their own business.

The owner presented his marketing plan to several suppliers. A major supplier liked the party concept so much that he offered to chip in $15,000 plus additional funds based on a percentage of sales (commonly called coop dollars). If the owner hadn’t recognized the resources at his disposal, thought the program through, and detailed his plan in writing, he might have missed a chance to mount a very effective marketing effort. The owner plans to offer joint-promotions to other suppliers as part of his strategy to enlarge his client base.

Suppliers are often approached by their customers to share the costs for a marketing program. They cannot say yes to every opportunity but must evaluate each idea on its own merits. The first thing they look for is a commitment to the concept from their customer, in this case, the owner. Having the promotion written out and presented in a logical, detailed manner helped the supplier to get the funds approved by his company and to make the final decision to participate. If the owner had not prepared a marketing plan, the supplier might not have agreed to provide funding.

In my experience, millions of dollars are often left on the boardroom table as many small business owners don’t even bother to ask their suppliers for assistance. You don’t get if you don’t ask.

When an archer is shooting for nothing, he has all his skill.If he shoots for a brass buckle, he is already nervous.If he shoots for a prize of gold, he goes blind or sees two targets - He is out of his mind!His skill has not changed. But the prize divides him. He cares. He thinks more of winning than of shooting- And the need to win drains him of power.

30 Things to STOP Doing to Yourself30 Things to START Doing for Yourself

Over the past year I have spoken in great depth with dozens of business owners. There is a growing fear and frustration with not being able to achieve what they know is possible. The clock is ticking and they recognize change is required. Unless you change what you are doing to or for yourself the results will never improve.

If you want to SELL your business there will be change and we can help. If you want toBUY a business there will be change and we can help.